A Deceptive Composition
A Lady Darby Mystery #12
By Anna Lee Huber
ISBN 9780593639412
annaleehuber.com
Brought to you by OBS Reviewer Jeanie
Synopsis:
Lady Kiera Darby and her dashing husband, Sebastian Gage, hope they’ve finally found peace after a tumultuous summer, but long-buried family secrets soon threaten to unravel their lives . . .
October 1832. Kiera is enjoying the slower pace of the English countryside. She, Sebastian, and their infant daughter have accompanied her father-in-law, Lord Gage, home so that he can recuperate from the injuries he sustained in a foiled attempt on his life. But as the chill of autumn sweeps across the land, they receive a summons from an unexpected quarter. Lord Gage’s estranged uncle—a member of the notorious Roscarrock family—has been murdered, and his family is desperate for answers. Despite Lord Gage’s protests, Kiera and Sebastian press on to Cornwall to assist.
It isn’t long before they discover that almost nothing is as it seems among the Roscarrocks, and they’ve been lured to their isolated cove under false pretenses. There are whispers of a lost treasure and frightening allusions to a series of murders stretching back decades that touch the lives of the family personally. Kiera and Sebastian are left with no choice but to uncover the truth before the secrets of the past threaten to destroy them all.
Review:
This historical mystery, like the others in the Lady Darby series, is written with excellence. The characters, the setting – this time, primarily in Cornwall – and outstanding descriptions are fuel for the imagination, especially for those who have been to England or Scotland, appreciate the Victorian era and complex mysteries. After someone tried to take the life of Lord Gage in the prior mystery, his son Sebastian Gage, daughter in law Kiera, the former Lady Darby, and their infant daughter Emma, stayed with Lord Gage through his recovery.
Lord Gage and his son were never close; when he met Kiera, he was openly derogatory of her. She has been an inquiry agent with Gage for a long time, and Gage learned the business from his father, retired from the Royal Navy. Throughout his recovery, Lord Gage wanted to get to know his only grandchild, Emma, and Kiera allowed it – on her terms. Against his usual nature, he adored the happy baby. He learned to be civil to Kiera and respect her, as she refused to receive any verbal abuse or hateful attitudes from him any longer. He and Gage also had fragile peace. Lord Gage even wants to remodel the dower house on his property for them to move into, as one day Gage will inherit the estate.
His change of heart was both welcome and timely. While Kiera and Gage were still visiting him, Lord Stephen Gage received a letter from his aunt, Amelia, that his uncle Branock had been murdered. In light of their line of work as gentleman inquiry agents, as well as family, they were invited to visit and work to find out who killed Branock. Stephen had not visited or communicated with anyone from his mother’s side of the family for about fifty years, and with good reason as revealed throughout the novel. His son had never met anyone in his late grandmother’s family. Lord Gage was skeptical about going, but Gage hoped to meet his family while working the murder.
Some families are better off out of touch. It took a few days to begin to see the true colors of the Roscarrocks and Killigrews, all part of Lord Gage’s mother’s family. They had been smugglers and ship wreck pickers for centuries, and their great mistake of sending then eleven-year-old Stephen (Lord Gage) and his best friend, Jago, to relocate contraband, had lifelong repercussions. There was a centuries-long line of deceit, with a terrible episode about fifty years ago and an immense lie that brought Lord Gage, his son, and Kiera to this corner of England. Whether any of them would survive, nobody knew.
Kiera and Gage are multidimensional. I enjoy getting to know Kiera better with each novel, since they are written in first person. I appreciate seeing how well Kiera can read Lord Gage and respond with kindness, despite his earlier dismay at her understanding. Watching Lord Gage play with Emma shows an untapped side of his personality, and little Emma adores him. There were several terms I relied on Wikipedia to help me learn. Not only did I appreciate one character calling another a “timdoodle”, I’m looking forward to using it! The characters are unique, and many are enigmas. Some of those in Cornwall are so adept at telling tall tales that it is difficult to know if they are lying or telling the truth. I enjoy watching Lord Gage’s continual change, and how happy and in love Kiera and Gage remain. Except for Kiera’s observations, we learn the most about the characters by their realistic communication and their responses to circumstances.
The mystery was difficult to solve. When a huge twist was revealed, I was startled, to say the least, as I wouldn’t have thought that depth of deception would occur in a family. There were so many open questions, missing puzzle pieces, that I admired anybody could actually solve a murder two hundred years ago with virtually none of the tools we have today. The last several chapters were extremely intense. The end was a mixed blessing, as some folks lost far more than they anticipated. I was, however, very satisfied with it, and highly recommend this historical mystery.
